Jega Replies Jonathan On Comments Over Conduct Of 2015 Election

Former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega, has replied ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, over comments he made concerning the 2015 general elections.

Jonathan in a book, Against the Run of Play, written by ThisDay Editorial Board Chairman, Olusegun Adeniyi, expressed disappointment with how Jega conducted the election.

Reacting though his Special Assistant, Prof Mohammed Kuna, Jega disagreed with Jonathan’s belief that the wide margin between the presidential election and National Assembly results in Kano State was a reflection of a flawed election.

The former President said it was strange that the state recorded 1.8 million votes in the presidential poll and 800,000 in the National Assembly election on the same day.

But Prof Kuna dismissed Jonathan’s claims and insisted that the introduction of the card reader made it difficult to manipulate elections and inflate results.

“There is nothing particularly special about the Kano result; it is a general trend as many voters were more interested in the presidential election than in other elections. That was what happened across the country and you can go and do the tabulation.

“With the card reader, it is no longer possible to return results that are higher than the accredited voters. If you analyse the results nationally, you will discover the same trend.”

Meanwhile, Senator Abubakar Girei, who represented Adamawa Central Senatorial Zone from 1999 to 2003 has slammed Jonathan for blaming his electoral defeat in 2015 presidential race on some persons.

Girei said Jonathan was the architect of his own defeat and not anyone and that he should bury his head in shame.